


Human After All

by orphan_account



Category: Muse (Band)
Genre: M/M, Shapeshifting, Short Story, kinda fluffy idk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:26:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24103597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: When your best friend is a shapeshifter, your everyday life is anything but normal.
Relationships: Dom Howard/Chris Wolstenholme
Comments: 10
Kudos: 8





	Human After All

_But they caught him with his case in a public place  
That is what we had feared_

_He severed segments and secretly liked that_  
_He always took the time to speak with me, I liked him for that  
He severed segments and secretly liked that_

_He was growing on me_

—

You probably shouldn’t be paranoid when purchasing something from a vending machine. I don’t care why, it just shouldn’t be that way. When I want a water bottle, I usually don’t want the thing to morph in my hands. That’s unfortunately what happened the other day.

I’m never too fazed by the other drinks available. Cans and bottles of all kinds of shit you shouldn’t ingest, so I pressed the little button on the panel to get myself some water. Not even the bitterly cold weather changed my mind. Spring water, 100% pure, blah blah blah. Who the fuck even cares if their water isn’t the purest, most distilled H2O on the planet? I just want a drink.

Anyway. 

Out the thing came, I pushed open the metal flap to grab it, y’know, all that. I thought I was about to crack open the lid - before I could even twist the thing off, a cheeky, cackling, familiar person appeared in my hands, and I almost toppled over at the sudden change in weight.

“Dom, for fuck’s sake,” I snarled, followed by a nervous chuckle as someone walked past us. “How did you even get in there?”

He couldn’t wipe that stupid grin off of his face. “Have you forgotten I can turn into anything at will? Absolutely anything?”

I sighed. “And?” I realised I was still carrying him bridal style, but I didn’t bother putting him down.

“Became a fly. Went straight for that little opening after someone got their drink, became a water bottle and managed to slot right in. End of story.”

I had to admit, his strange shapeshifting abilities never failed to surprise me. There was one occasion where he morphed into this giant, ugly looking spider - bigger than a dinner plate - and camped out in a corner of my apartment. Dom would never stop reminding me about the scream of absolute terror I let out.

“How did you know I was going to get water in the first place?”

“I’ve hung around you enough to know what you do every day. You’re, well, how do I put this lightly...” He squinted at me and stroked his chin. “Oh, you’re predictable.” I felt myself want to snap at him, but he silenced me by poking the tip of my nose. Charming bastard.

“Should I put you down?”

Dom laughed, “As much as I’d like to stay in the arms of a hunk like you, I think that would be best.”

I felt my cheeks warm up. “Quit it.”

“You’re still holding me.”

As much as I wanted to sock him in the jaw, I still tilted my arms so he could get off on his own accord. He brushed himself off and smirked, “I see you enjoyed the compliment.”

“Can it.”

_Zap!_

I almost walked right off when he turned into a can. 

I’d never been so pissed at a fucking tin can in my entire life. 

Dom morphed back, now in hysterics at the beyond-pissed scowl on my face. He snickered, “Your _face!_ This is- This is priceless, gosh, I wish I could’ve filmed that.”

 _If he turns into a camera, I’m going to scream,_ I thought. The little shit was getting on each and every one of my nerves. “If it got filmed, I would have thrown myself into the ocean.”

“Don’t say that. Your grumpy mug is _adorable_.”

“I swear, if you say one more thing, my head is going to implode.” I knew I would not be able to stand my ground in a fight against a human with an ability like this, or whatever he was. _Annoying_ ’s something. Plus, I’d never actually want to hit him. It was all I could say to shut him up.

“Someone’s on their period,” Dom said, grinning. “Why don’t we go back home?”

I resisted saying anything foul in response. Keeping a shapeshifter in the apartment was never a good idea, though, I still let him come over. I huffed, “Fine.”

—

When you’ve got someone that’s barely human in your living quarters, it’s not just making a vending machine purchase that you shouldn’t have to be worried about, it’s also your _sleep_ , and sometimes even cooking. Can’t have the guy ending up in my mac and cheese. 

Lunch managed to pass without any (major) issues, dinner _would’ve been simple_ , had Dom not hidden in a cabinet as a giant cockroach and scared the shit out of me, causing me to almost drop a full glass. He’s relentless about it. I’ve learned to be numb towards whatever the fuck he decides to pull.

And now I was in bed. Laying on my side, checking my phone in the near pitch black, aside from my curtains letting some light bleed in. Nighttime was never easy - keep in mind Dom’s power doesn’t really have a limit. Thinking you’ve entered sleep paralysis when _in reality_ , that seven foot tall, ghastly white figure in the corner of your room is just a fake is an experience unlike any other.

I couldn’t make out any fake ghouls that night. Naturally I was suspicious, yet for some reason, nothing struck me. It’s usually when I least expect something that he strikes. Might I add, when all you have on is underwear and you’re (probably) in the presence of someone else, you should tread with caution. 

I shut my phone off and placed it on the bedside table. I couldn’t keep my eyes open now, and I’d fallen asleep on my side, one of my arms hanging off of the bed. It was a bit foolish of me to let my exhaustion take over. That would’ve been a perfect moment for Dom to pull something.

And he did. Although, it was far from expected.

I was fast asleep by then, but the warmth and weight of another person slowly woke me up. It was on my non stretched arm - I thought there was no way he was laying on top of me, however, when I opened my eyes and turned my head, I had thought wrong.

Dom was holding onto me like a koala, still in his casual wear. I didn’t know what to say. He lifted his head and muttered, “It’s cold.”

“Shouldn’t you be transforming into some terrifying creature by now?” I asked, laughing nervously, but he didn’t move. “Don’t typically see you like this.”

“You’re the warmest thing in this entire apartment, what else am I gonna do?” I could barely tell he was smiling in the darkness. I didn’t know if I was confused or interested. 

“Get off of me for a sec,” I said. He tumbled off, and I rolled over onto my back - what happened next was a questionable decision, but I wasn’t going to let him freeze to death. I pulled back the covers. “If you’re cold, you can sleep in here. Just don’t hold onto me.”

He stared at me for a moment. “...Really?”

I laughed. “Yeah. Now get in, or the bed will get cold.”

Dom hesitated, but finally climbed in. He curled up right beside me - I already knew I was not wanting to do anything with the guy.

He mumbled, “You’re wa- I mean, your bed is warm. Thank you.”

I looked at him suspiciously. “Since when are _you_ trying to cuddle up to someone?”

“Well, I’m human,” Dom said, pressing his curled self right up against my side. “Humans want warmth and company, don’t they?”

I wasn’t about to roll over and face him and be all gooey, I knew that. Just felt odd that he was latching onto me now. “I suppose.”

Dom fell asleep facing away from me, but it still took me a while to settle. In my mind, I mean. Almost refused to believe this was as genuine as it gets.

—

“Good morning.”

I opened my eyes to see Dom on top of me, arms beneath mine, and by the look on his face he was waiting for me to register the situation. Then I realised his face was just inches apart from mine, and I almost threw him off of me.

“You’re... close,” I said. Couldn’t think of anything better. “Why are y-“

“Why am I here?” Dom interrupted, “Well, for starters, you haven’t let go of me, and... You’re not moving away.” 

I sighed in annoyance, “That’s not what I asked.” I pushed him up, without realising that he was straddling my hips. I was not good at thinking before acting.

“The point I’m trying to make is that you don’t have a problem with this. Case in point...” Dom peered down at my hands - I still had them on his chest, and there was no way I could avoid digging myself a bigger hole. He looked up at me with a smirk.

Silence hovered. He kept his stare, like he was waiting for me to say or, uh... do anything. Like I mentioned earlier, I had no intention to start shit. I gave him a look and he climbed off, thank gosh, but he was clingier than a cobweb. Immediately he splayed a hand on my abdomen.

Then I said it; “ _What_ are you doing?” 

“So you don’t like it?”

I was not about to have him put words in my mouth. “Yeah... Wait, no. Well-” Dom smiled at me as I barely strung a sentence together - then he was the one to slam the brakes. 

Dom said, “I think ‘can it’ was the expression you used yesterday.”

_The fucking tin can._

“Y’know, I’m curious,” I sat up. “Why’d you decide to be decent, only just now?” He’s been a sneaky little dipshit since I first encountered him - years ago - and even now, nothing has changed. “This has to be leading up to some monumental scare. You soften me up now and get your revenge later, right?”

He frowned, “You haven’t noticed anything? Pondered even for a minute as to what my deal is?”

“Yeah, I ponder why you’re not always scaring the pants off of Matt,” I said.

“Chris, he laughs at _everything_. I could turn into some ungodly, boney thing that barely resembles a human, and he’d piss himself laughing. But that’s not the answer I want.”

Every time he did the riddle-me-this gimmick, it was painful. I’m not here to solve puzzles. Still, I asked, “Then what is it?” 

There was this moment of eye contact. I didn’t know what the fuck I was thinking about, or why. “I can’t say it,” Dom muttered. “You’d find it weird or something.”

That felt like it was verbatim from a shitty novel, like I could’ve easily expected Dom to say he couldn’t tell me. Part of me wanted him to just keep it his own secret. The other part wanted him to spill his guts to me, and strangely, it was what I preferred. 

I was almost desperate to leave the room now.

“...Whatever.”

—

Now, I want to say, I’m not one for ‘sudden changes’. If we’re best friends to start, I don’t necessarily want to be in your pants too quickly, y’know? The problem with this was that in Dom’s case, I hadn’t straight up told him I wasn’t interested in whatever he was getting to, nor did I argue when he pointed it out. The charade could not drag on for much longer if he was in the apartment as well. And now I was getting impatient.

I was laying on the couch, barely paying attention to some cheesy reality show on TV. No matter how many times I tried, I could not escape the cesspool of horrible soap operas or family dramas, but that’s another discussion for another time. 

Whenever a fly showed up in here, I was skeptical. I don’t keep my windows open when it’s cold. At that point I was not about to get up and bother swatting it - or fail at trying to. 

And speak of the devil, there was one now. 

It hovered above me for a while, doing figure eights, and I could already tell what was about to happen. That little stinker. 

I laughed, “Come on Dom, I know it’s y-“

_Zap!_

It sure as hell was Dom, in all his glory, landing on me with an _oof_. His torso was pressed right against mine, and just when I thought it couldn’t get touchier, my face was being cupped in his hands. He gave me a look of what seemed to be determination, but I was shivering like a leaf at how cold he was. Dom said, “Can’t fuck around much longer.”

“What do you mean by that?” I was slightly muffled by how much he was squishing my cheeks. 

Then it hit me.

Not just the realisation, but Dom’s _lips_ as well, warm and loving, and I could tell from how he latched onto me that he was waiting for some time to do this. And to be honest, it felt incredible.

My heart was pounding in my chest. He simply smiled at me and leaned in again - but of course someone had to begin banging on the front door. I knew just from how they knocked alone that this was none other than Matt. I can’t even put into words as to how much he, a grown man, reminded me of a toddler. 

Then I panicked. Matt had my spare key to the door, plus I had no idea how he would react to any of this, and all I could do was look at Dom with fear in my eyes. He put a finger over my lips to shush me.

“Shh, I got it,” he whispered. “Just play along.”

_Zap!_

On my stomach was a large cat. Golden tufts of fur, grey eyes and a tiny smirk. Never thought I’d get to experience Dom in cat form, but there he was. I grinned at him, now confident, “Come in!”

The door practically slammed open, and Matt made his usual entrance. “Afternoon, afternoon!” he boomed - for such a little dude, he made a tremendous amount of noise. “How are you doing?”

I held up Dom proudly, and thank god for Matt’s obliviousness, because he ran over and scooped up the cat from my hands. “You got a cat?” Matt asked, now raking his fingers through his fur. 

I sat up, “Nah, nah, this lady down the corridor needed someone to mind her cat for a while,” Bullshitting was what I was best at. “Took the critter in and he’s been good company.”

“He’s _so_ cute!” Matt gushed. Watching him nuzzle his face in Dom’s fur and call him all cute names was probably the funniest thing I’d ever seen, and all I could do was watch and bite my tongue as to not blow our cover. Was he not even gonna ask what his name is, or... “And sweet too, he hasn’t scratched you or anything?”

I shook my head. “Not once. She told me he’s an old chap, so he isn’t gonna scratch your face off or anything.” Dom glared at me when I said _old_. “D’you want a tea or something while you’re here?” 

Matt gave him a few more pets and all that, then placed Dom on the floor (even as a cat, he went straight back to me). “No thanks, I’ve got some things to do today and I can’t spend too long getting distracted!” 

“Well, you better get going,” I said. Matt’s a good mate, but sometimes I’d rather be with people that act their age. No offence.

“Sorry for such a short visit, but I need to get shit done."

I shrugged. “See you later.” 

Without another word, Matt bolted out the door. Like a fucking cartoon character, I swear he was _something else._

Cat Dom was still curled up in my lap. I gave him a nudge, but he didn’t move. Fell asleep or something, I guess, but remembering that this lovely, warm cat was human after all had me stunned. 

Another _zap_ , another kiss. 

**Author's Note:**

> hi hi that song at the start was Roland by Interpol if ur wondering (๑･̑◡･̑๑)


End file.
